Ukraine's 1st medal of Paris Olympics won by fencer who refused to shake Russian opponent's hand

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Ukraine's first medal of the 2024 Olympics belongs to women's fencer Olga Kharlan, but she insists it is for more than just herself. 

Kharlan beat South Korea's Choi Sebin 15-14, coming back from a six-point deficit, for the women's saber fencing bronze medal on Monday. She then dedicated the medal to her country amid its ongoing war with Russia. 

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"I brought a medal to my country, and it's the first one, and it's going to be a good start for all our athletes who are here because it's really tough to compete when in your country is at war," Kharlan told reporters after the match. "Every medal, it's like gold. I don't care (that) it's bronze. It's gold."

Sebin Choi and Olga Kharlan compete in the Fencing Women's Sabre Individual Bronze Medal Bout at the Paris Olympics. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

There are only 140 athletes from Ukraine at the Olympics, the smallest group in the country’s history at the Summer Games, as hundreds have been killed during the war. 

A display with sports equipment was set up at Parliament Square in London to honor the 487 Ukrainian athletes killed since Russia’s invasion of the country. 

Russia's war against Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, just days after the conclusion of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, has now gone on for two years, five months and one week. It is a conflict that almost indirectly cost Kharlan a chance to even compete in the Paris Olympics, if not for a "unique exception." 

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During the 2023 World Fencing Championships, Kharlan was disqualified from competition for refusing to shake the